The Galaxy Main Menu is your hub. It's where you can access Options, The Sporepedia or get started creating creatures.

Load or Create CreaturesThere are two buttons available in the center of the galaxy. They are:

Load a Creature OR Create a Creature

Click on either button to get started!

OptionsIf you click on the Galaxy button in the lower left corner you will gain access to options such as: Sporepedia, Spore Catalog, Settings, and Quit (if you click on this button while in the Creature Creator, you'll also have an option to return to the Galaxy Main Menu).

RegisterIf you did not register, you can do so at any time by clicking on the Register button directly to the right of the Galaxy button. When you are logged in, this button will show your screen name.

PatchingIf a patch is available the Spore Creature Creator will automatically detect it. You will only be able to download patches if you are online and logged in. A restart is required.

Spore is what we here at Maxis like to call a massively solo play game. What does this mean to you? Well, simply that when you install and launch Spore, you are playing in your own Galaxy. All of the other creations, planets, spaceships, vehicles, etc. that you encounter during your gameplay are controlled by AI systems. That said, your Galaxy exists within the Universe of Spore player Galaxies.

What does that mean?The unique online feature of Spore is that all of the content that you have made and that other players of Spore have made is shared in what we call the Spore Universe through our Spore servers. That means that if you register and play online, you can share your creations with other players and that the creatures, buildings, vehicles, cities etc. that you see in your own Spore Galaxy will be content that other players have created. Your Spore Galaxy will be filled with ever unique creations for you to find, interact with and collect.

The Sporepedia and www.spore.com are your interfaces into The Spore Universe. The Sporepedia displays every creation that you have made in the My Creations tab. If you play online, you will also see the creations that other players have created, you'll be able to comment on them, select to only receive your buddies' content and participate in the Spore Community.

Our goal was to give you an ever surprising, ever unique experience as you travel through the cosmos.

The Everything section allows you to browse or search anything you've made or downloaded as well as anything that Maxis made and shipped with the Creature Creator.

The MySpore Page is your place to find featured content, see community events and manage your comments.

The Spore Catalog section will link you directly to the Spore Catalog where you can buy Spore and custom Spore merchandise.

There is more in store for the Sporepedia in the full game of Spore, where it allows you to select content that you'd like to see in the game, preview the creations of other players, share your creations with the universe of Spore players and more.

SharingAfter you create and save a creature, you can upload it to the Spore servers.

To share, click on the button from Sporepedia for any creature you've made and share it with the world. You can see your creations and the creations of others in the Spore community at Spore.com.

Email CreationsIt's never been easier to share your creations with your friends and family. Simply email the .png file of any creature you make in Spore to your buddies and after the recipient saves it out to their desktop they can just drag and drop it into the Creature Creator Build Mode to open it.

If you accepted the default locations at installation, you can find your creature .pngs at: ~save_path

Click on the galaxy button to pause your game. This brings up your creature's timeline where you can see your progress through the phases of Spore. This also gives you access to the Save Game, Additional Game Options, Exit to the Galaxy Main Menu or Quit Spore.

The Sporepedia is your one stop access to all of the content that you've created in Spore's Creators, all of the Maxis Made content and all content that you receive from other players through the Spore Content Servers. Check an asset's statistics, learn more about who made it or leave a comment about it for the creator.

You can access it by clicking on the Sporepedia icon or by pressing the "B" key. The left hand navigation allows you to browse all of the creations in your game, explore the Spore community or visit the Spore Store to learn about the newest Spore games.

In the content browsing sections, you can view content by type (Creature, Building, Vehicle, etc.) and then sort it by Date Uploaded, Title, Creator, Type or whether it's been shared by you to www.spore.com.

The Spore Creature Creator is lots of fun, but it's just the beginning! If you enjoy this, be sure to check out the full Spore game.

The Spore game is made up of five phases, each corresponding to a stage of evolution: Cell, Creature, Tribe, Civilization and Space. Each phase presents different challenges and goals. You may choose to start in Cell and nurture one species from its humble aquatic origins to its evolution as a sentient species. Or, you may decide to start building tribes or civilizations on multiple planets. What you do with your universe is up to you.

In Spore you also have a variety of creation tools at your disposal. With these tools you can create every aspect of your universe: creatures, vehicles, buildings, and even starships. While Spore is a single player game, your creations and other players' creations are automatically shared between your galaxy and theirs, providing a limitless number of worlds to explore and play. On the Spore website, you'll be able to look at all the cool things your friends and people all around the world are making - you can even pull them into your world to play with.

Each game phase presents you with goals or mission that if accomplished will help you to succeed in that phase.

Mini Goal CardsThe mini goal cards appear in the upper left hand corner of your game screen. These will track your current status toward completing that goal. Click on the mini goal card to open the complete Mission Log.

The Mission LogThe Mission Log gives you detailed information about all of the goals and missions that you have open. You can also browse a history of your past goals and missions.

Events will be communicated to you through the Event Log found at the left hand side of your screen just above the mini map. These notices keep you posted on events happening in areas of the planet that you are not directly looking at, for example, if you conquer another city but you are engaged at a different one, you will see an event log item appear to notify you of your success.

You can click on the Event Log using the LMB to be taken to the site of the event it mentions.

Everyone loves to travel. Click the background button and choose from the different environments.

The Black BackgroundThe black background contains a transparency layer. It captures only the image of your creature. This is useful if you'd like to create t-shirts or use your creature pictures in other images.

Each game phase presents you with goals or mission that if accomplished will help you to succeed in that phase.

Mini Goal CardsThe mini goal cards appear in the upper left hand corner of your game screen. These will track your current status toward completing that goal. Click on the mini goal card to open the complete Mission Log.

The Mission LogThe Mission Log gives you detailed information about all of the goals and missions that you have open. You can also browse a history of your past goals and missions.

As you play through the Cell Phase of Spore you will discover and collect parts and DNA points by eating. Once you have collected at least 20 DNA points you can enter the Cell Creator any time you wish in order to evolve your Cell to take on the environment and challenge of the tide pool. It is here, in the Cell Creator that you can add parts to increase your cell's abilities, change your colors and even your shape.

The Cell Creator has two modes:

Build Mode - where you add parts and change the shape of your cell.

Paint Mode - where you change the color and texture of your cell.

Each time you enter the Cell Creator you will begin in Build Mode.

Here are some quick tips for getting around the Cell Creator:

Use the rotate buttons or hold LMB and drag the dais or to move the camera.

Use the +/- buttons or hold down shift and scroll the mouse wheel to zoom.

You can undo and redo any change that you make using the Undo or Redo buttons

It is important to know which direction your cell is facing. Its front is pointing toward the arrow on the dais. When putting on mouths, it is best to have them facing as much forward as possible.

To change between Build Mode and Paint Mode, simply click on the buttons positioned at the top center of your game screen.

Two things every cell needs before you can proceed with the Cell Phase; a mouth, and a name.

TorsoMove your mouse over your cell's torso to reveal its spine. Highlight an individual vertebra by mousing over it. Once a vertebra is highlighted in blue, scrolling the mouse wheel or using the up or down arrow on your keyboard will then increase or decrease the size of the torso at that point.

Scaling PartsTo increase or decrease the size of a part that you have added to your cell, select the part by clicking on it. Once a part is selected, use the scroll the mouse wheel or use the up or down arrow to scale that part.

The cell parts palette is on the left of the screen when you enter the Cell Creator.

Unlocking PartsDuring the Cell Phase you will start with a default set of parts available to you. Each new part that you discover in the tide pool will unlock in the Cell Creator and you can elect to add these parts when you decide to evolve your cell.

Selecting and Adding PartsTo select a part click on it in the parts palette and then drag it from the palette onto your cell and position it where you want it.

Removing PartsYou can remove parts as well as add them to your cell creature. Just click on the part you wish to remove, hold the LMB and drag the part off of your cell, or hit the backspace key on your keyboard to remove the part. You will get the DNA point value of that part back added back to your DNA budget.

AbilitiesEach part you add to your cell creature gives your cell new abilities. These abilities are noted in the pop up information for each part. You will see the summary of your cell's abilities in the upper right hand corner of the Cell Creator.

Modifying PartsOnce you have added a part to your cell creature, you can scale the size of that part. Select the part by clicking on it with the LMB. When it is highlighted in blue, scroll the mouse wheel to increase and decrease the size of that part.

If you don't want any of the modifications you have made in the Cell Creator to be used. Click on the Cancel button in the lower right hand corner of the Cell Creator. Your cell will return to the tide pool in its previous state of evolution.

Now that you've evolved your cell, you can add or change its color too.

Change from Build Mode to Paint Mode by clicking on the Paint Mode Icon (image) at the top of the screen.

The Paint PaletteThe Paint Palette will open on the left side of the screen.

Paint StylesSelect any of the styles by clicking on your choice. Your cell will immediately take on this style.

Color SelectionYou can change the color, and keep the pattern, using the color swatches at the top of the Paint Palette. Click on a color once to choose that color swatch, or click and hold the color swatch to see more options. Move your mouse cursor to the specific color of your choice and then release.

You add abilities to your cell in the Cell Creator. When you are in the Cell Creator you can access the Spore Guide for more information on using the Creator.

Adding parts to your cell creature will give it new abilities. The summary of your cell's abilities can be found in the upper right corner of the Cell Creator.

The parts you discover will be different mouth types, weapons and speed boosters.

Mouths:You come into the world as an herbivore with a filter mouth, and you can unlock a carnivorous mouth, the Jaw, or an omnivorous mouth, the Proboscis. As an herbivore you can only eat leafy green matter. A carnivore can only eat other cells and an omnivore can choose to eat both.

Weapons:Spikes to poke your enemies, a poison spitter to protect yourself with clouds of poison and an electric beam to electrocute your foes.

Movement and Speed: Flagella will give you speed, Cilia will allow you to turn quickly and increase your speed and Jets will give you bursts of speed.

To copy a part that you have already added to your cell, click on that part while holding down the ALT key on your keyboard, then drag the copy to another spot on your cell. You will be charged DNA points for these copies.

Welcome to the Spore Creature Creator. With this easy-to-use creativity tool you can create, animate, and play with your very own Spore creatures.

Create something realistic or fantastic, personalize them exactly as you want by adding and shaping parts like legs, mouths, tails and even unique skin colors and patterns. Then see how your creations come to life in the Test Drive Mode.

You can get more Spore Creature Parts by registering your copy of the Spore Creature Creator or visiting the Spore Catalog, accessed through the Sporepedia option.

Your creatures can also be used in the full Spore game - find out more at www.spore.com.

Get started creating a brand new creature now, by clicking Create a Creature at the Center of the Galaxy.

Move your mouse over the torso to reveal the creature's spine. Click the torso, you will see arrows appear at both ends of the spine. Click either arrow and drag outward to add vertebrae or inward to delete vertebrae.

NOTE: If you shorten your creature's spine (and therefore, body) once it has body parts, you may notice one or more body parts that turn red. This indicates that you are unable to shorten the spine that much because the parts "live" on that section of the body.

Bending the BodyTo bend the spine, click and drag an individual vertebra. The best method is to go vertebra by vertebra making small adjustments.

Sizing Parts and BodyThe mouse wheel gives you the freedom to adjust the scale of any body part. Select a part and then scroll the mouse wheel to increase/decrease scale. To fatten or thin your creature click on a vertebra and then scroll the mouse wheel to increase or decrease the size of the torso at that point.

After modifying any part of a creature, simply click the green check mark at the bottom right corner. Clicking the green check mark will prompt you to save your creation and then exit you to the Sporepedia entry for your saved creation. You can save incrementally with the blue Save button near the bottom right corner of the screen.

To save a creature you must:

Add a mouth

Give the creature a name

To find your creature again go to the Sporepedia and look under My Creations.

When you select Create a Creature from the Galaxy the Creature Creator Build Mode will open.

There are three modes to the Creature Creator: Build Mode, Test Drive Mode and Paint Mode.

You can find details about each mode in its Spore Guide section.

A couple of quick start notes:

Click the New Creature button in the right hand corner to get a new torso.

Parts are found in palettes on your left, choose the category and then simply drag the part of your choice onto your creature.

You can even manipulate the torso and the spine, just click the torso to drag it around, or click on a specific vertebra and use the mouse wheel to fatten or thin the torso in that location. Or click on the vertebra and drag to manipulate the spine.

There is more information on using the Build Mode in that section of the Spore Guide.

Under the Creations header in the left hand column you'll see: My Creations, Maxis Made and Everything.

If you have not made a creature yet, click on Maxis Made and you will see all of the creations that come with the Spore Creature Creator. The creatures that you create will show up in My Creations once you save them.

Select one of the creature cards and then click the Edit button to enter the Creature Creator Build Mode.

Each part you add to your creature advances your creature's abilities. The rollover information on each part gives you details about what abilities each part delivers. Specialize your creature in social or attack abilities. Make sure to check out defensive and movement abilities as well.

Creature Abilities SummaryThe sum of your creature's abilities can be seen in the upper right corner in the abilities summary area.

DietAn important item to consider is the mouth you choose, this will determine if your creature is an herbivore, carnivore or omnivore.

On limbs, the joints act as position balls, you can move them around or scale them. Rotating your creature to face you can make it easier to manipulate the limbs. Move limbs back and forth with the creature facing sideways to you, move limbs up and down with the creature facing toward or away from you. At times it may be necessary to move your creature's torso up a little to make room for limbs. Just click and hold the LMB on your creature's torso area and move the torso to the position you wish.

Adding Graspers or FeetThe end of a limb is the only spot on a creature where you can place a foot or a grasper. Each limb comes with a starter foot or grasper, you can replace these by simply adding a new foot or grasper in its place.

The DNA BudgetEach part you put on your creature costs DNA points. Once you run out of points to spend, you will not be able to add any more parts. ICON)

The Complexity MeterThe complexity meter measures the complexity of your creature's anatomy. The complexity meter will show up in the upper right corner as you add parts. If your creature becomes overly complex, you will not be able to add any more parts.

You can access more part handles once you have a part on your creature by selecting that part and holding down the tab key. You'll see additional part handles that let you control the placement of each part to a greater extent.

Copying Parts

To copy a part that you already have on your creature, click on that part while holding down the Alt key on your keyboard, then drag the copy to another spot on your creature.

Advanced Limbs

Hold Control and click between two joints of a limb to remove a section (you can't remove the shoulder or hip segment).

Hold Control and drag a new limb to join it to the remaining joints of the other limb.

You can access more part handles once you have a part on your creature by selecting that part and holding down the tab key while you select a part. You'll see additional part handles that let you control the placement of each part to a greater extent.

Copying PartsTo copy a part that you already have on your creature, click on that part while holding down the Alt key on your keyboard, then drag the copy to another spot on your creature.

Advanced Limbs ControlsHold Control and click between two joints of a limb to remove a section (you can't remove the shoulder or hip segment). Hold Control and drag a new limb to join it to the remaining joints of the other limb.

Limbs have joints which act as position balls. You can move them by selecting the joint and moving it around. Scale the joint by selecting it and using your Middle Mouse Wheel or the up and down arrow keys.

Rotating your creature to face you can make it easier to manipulate the limbs. Move limbs back and forth with the creature facing sideways to you, move limbs up and down with the creature facing toward or away from you.

The end of a limb is the only spot on a creature where you can place a foot or a grasper.

To select a part category (mouths, limbs, details, etc) click its icon at the top left.

Selecting and Adding PartsTo select a part click on it in the parts palette and then drag it from the palette onto your creature. To select a part once it is on your creature, just click on it, when it is highlighted in blue it is selected, you can now move it to another position on your creature or pull it off and sell it back to the Parts Palette.

Which way is my creature facing?Your creature is facing toward the arrow on the creature creator dais.

Undo/RedoClick the undo/ redo buttons to undo or redo your last move. (You can click several times.)

Click the torso, you will see arrows appear at both ends of the spine.

Click either arrow and drag outward to add vertebrae or inward to delete vertebrae.

NOTE: If you shorten your creature's spine (and therefore, body) once it has body parts, you may notice one or more body parts that turn red. This indicates that you are unable to shorten the spine because the parts "live" on that section of the body.

Bending the bodyTo bend the spine, click and drag an individual vertebra. The best method is to go vertebra by vertebra making small adjustments.

Sizing Parts and Body

The mouse wheel gives you the freedom to adjust the scale of any body part.

Select a part and then scroll the mouse wheel to increase/decrease scale.

To fatten or thin your creature click on a vertebra and then scroll the mouse wheel to increase or decrease the size of the torso at that point.

Now that your species has reached the Tribal Phase, you will no longer be able to evolve it, adding parts and abilities. You can, however, buy your Tribe Members accessories which add to their abilities.

To Enter the Tribal OutfitterSelect the Outfits Tab in the upper left area of the Tribal Planner palette.

Click on the portrait of your Tribe Member in the Outfit Palette and Click the Edit Outfit button. You will now enter the Tribal Outfitter. The outfit that you create for this Tribe Member will be shared with all of the members of your tribe.

The Outfits PaletteTabs across the top of the Outfits Palette allow you to choose from hats, masks, details, etc.

Selecting and Adding Outfit AccessoriesTo select an accessory click on it in the outfits palette and then drag it from the palette onto your tribe member.

Scaling and Modifying AccessoriesTo select a part once it is on your tribe member, just click on it until it is highlighted in blue. Use the handles to change the shape of the selected accessory. Use the position ball to adjust the placement of the accessory on your tribe member. Use the mouse wheel or the up or down arrow on your keyboard to scale the selected accessory.

Tribal AbilitiesThe abilities that your outfit accessories give to your tribe members is summarized in the upper right corner of the Tribal Outfitter Screen.

Painting Your Tribe MemberYou can decide to spruce up your Tribe Members by giving them a new color at the same time you outfit them. Select the Paint Mode button at the top of the Outfitter Screen. Select from the pattern and color you like just as you did in the Creature Creator. Your Tribal Identity Color will be reapplied once you return to the Tribal Village.

Undo/RedoClick the undo/redo buttons to undo or redo your last move (you can click several times.)

Now that your species has reached the Civilization Phase, you can upgrade its outfits.

To Enter the City Outfitter

Select the City Outfitter Tab in The City Planner.

Click on the portrait of your Citizen in the Outfit Palette and Click the Edit Outfit button. You will now enter the City Outfitter. The outfit that you create for this citizen will be shared with all of the citizens of your city.

The Outfits PaletteTabs across the top of the Outfits Palette allow you to choose from hats, masks, details, etc.

Selecting and Adding Outfit AccessoriesTo select an accessory click on it in the outfits palette and then drag it from the palette onto your citizen.

Scaling and Modifying AccessoriesTo select an accessory once it is on your citizen, just click on it until it is highlighted in blue. Use the handles to change the shape of the selected accessory. Use the position ball to adjust the placement of the accessory on your citizen. Use the mouse wheel or the up or down arrow on your keyboard to scale the selected accessory. City Outfits are purely ornamental. They will no longer enhance the abilities of your species.

Painting Your CitizenYou can decide to spruce up your Citizens by giving them a new color at the same time you outfit them. Select the Paint Mode button at the top of the Outfitter Screen. Select from the pattern and color you like just as you did in the Creature Creator. Your City Identity Color will be reapplied once you return to the City Planner.

Undo/RedoClick the undo/redo buttons to undo or redo your last move (you can click several times.)

You are no longer in the evolutionary phase that you were during the Creature Phase, so you can no longer change your physical appearance by adding or moving parts. You can, however, buy Outifts for your Tribe Members in the Tribal Outfitter.

To enter the Tribal Outfitter, click on your hut then click on the Outfit TAB in the menu.

Each outfit accessory provides a different benefit to your tribe members so pick accessories that match the strategy you wish your tribe to pursue.

You can enter the Building Creator from within the Civilization Phase from the City Planner or from the Galaxy Main Menu.

You will always start in Build Mode when you create buildings.

There are four categories of buildings that you can make in Spore; City Halls, Houses, Entertainment and Factories.

Buildings are purely there for the aesthetic pleasure of your citizens, the purpose they serve in the Civilization Phase is determined by their category function and city layout. So, have fun and go all out!

Now that you've created the perfect building, it's time to add a little color. Select Paint Mode at the top of the Building Creator. The Paint Palette will open on the right of the Building Creator Screen.

You can paint your building in one of three ways:

Complete Styles - just one click and your building will take on the style of the sample image in the Complete Styles Palette.

or

Partial Styles - allows you to apply specific textures and colors of your choice in three regions: walls and roofs, connectors, windows, doors, function, and details.

or

Paint Brush Mode - allows you to customizing the textures and colors for each region on each individual building block.

Paint LikeYou can even copy the paint theme of one of your previous creations using the Paint Like feature. This is particularly useful if you want to paint all of your buildings using the same style. You can even match the style of vehicles or creatures that you have created. See the Paint Like section on how to use this feature.

In Build Mode the Blocks Palette is open on the left of the Building Creator Screen.

Blocks CategoriesAlong the top of the Parts Palette are the Parts Categories you can choose from; roofs, Select from various roofs, structural bodies, connectors, windows, doors, function, details, effects. Each building category has some variety of blocks belonging to that category. To select the Part Category you wish to use, just click on its tab in the Part Category row.

Which way is my building facing?Your building is facing toward the arrow on the building dais.

Selecting and Adding BlocksTo select a block click on it in the block palette and then drag it from the palette onto the dais or onto your building.

To select a part once it is on your building, just click on it until it is highlighted in blue.

Stacking or Intersecting Roofs and BodiesIf you place two blocks on the dais together, they will automatically intersect as you bring them close together. If you place one block directly over another it will automatically stack.

Snap ToWhile you can place a block anywhere you wish to on your building, windows, doors and details all have snap to points to help assist you in alignment. You will notice a slight snap and hold when you drag these blocks onto your building.

Building Diameter and HeightThere are limits to the diameter and height that your buildings can be. If you exceed these limits as you try to place a block, the block simply won't stay put, instead it will remain highlighted red even if it looks like it should attach. You will not be charged for blocks that can not be placed.

Undo/RedoClick the undo/redo buttons to undo or redo your last move (you can click several times).

You can access more part handles once you have a part on your building by selecting that part and holding down the tab key. You'll see additional part handles that let you control the placement of each part to a greater extent.

Copying Parts

To copy a part that you already have on your building, click on that part while holding down the ALT key on your keyboard, then drag the copy to another spot on your building.

Directional Placement

To move a part in the z plane hold Control key down on a selected part and reposition it with your mouse.

To move a part in the x and y plane hold Shift key down on a selected part and reposition it with your mouse.

Paint Brush Mode allows you to paint the regions of each individual building block separately.

Paint Brush Steps

Select a pattern swatch, you will see it appear alongside the color palette selector.

Most pattern swatches have a primary and secondary color. Chose one color from the top row of the color palette selector and another color from the bottom row of the palette color selector.

Move your cursor, which will appear as a paint bucket over to your building. Areas of your building will outline in blue, this is the area that will be painted if you click. Click to paint the area you wish with your pattern.

Paint Brush Mode Advanced Features

Painting Multiple Blocks or Regions

Press the 1 on your number keys then Hold the Control key and place your paint bucket over block to select all similar blocks. Click to paint all blocks the same texture and color

Press 2 on your number keys then Hold the Control key and place your paint bucket over a block region to select all like similar regions. Click to paint all of the outlined regions with the same texture and color.

Eye Dropper

Press 3 on your number keys then Hold the Alt key when you click on a painted block to copy color and texture into the swatch color band window.

Press 3 on your number keys then Hold Control and Alt keys to activate the eyedropper. When you click on a painted block you will pick up both the color and texture of that block. You can then click on any other block and paint it that same color and texture.

Press 4 on your number keys then Hold the Control and Alt keys to activate the eye dropper. When you click on a painted block you will pick up only the texture of that block. You can now apply that texture to another block by clicking on it with the paint bucket.

Press 5 on your number keys, then Hold the Control and Alt keys to activate the eye dropper. When you click on a painted block you will pick up only the color of that block. You can now apply that color to another block by clicking on it with the paint bucket.

Editing Blocks With HandlesOnce you have added a block to your building you can edit it using its edit handles. Select the block you wish to edit by clicking on it. It will highlight in blue when selected.

Each of the blue handles allows you to edit the block:

Adjustment Arrow: Change a block's height, width, length, or curl. Just pull and see what it does.

Rotation Ring: Rotate the direction of blocks.

Removing BlocksTo remove a block, either select the block and press delete or click and drag it off the building or dais.

After modifying any part of a building or creating a new one, simply click the green check mark at the bottom right corner.

If you entered the Building Creator from the Galaxy Main Menu you will enter the Sporepedia with your building card selected.

If you entered the Building Creator from the City Planner in the Civilization Phase your building will be automatically saved and you will return to the City Planner with your new building ready to use in your City.

If a red exclamation mark appears in the place of the green check mark, it is because you need to do one of the these steps:

Add more blocks to your building - all buildings must contain at least 3 blocks.

Give your building a name

If a yellow exclamation mark appears in the place of the green check mark, you will be prompted to paint the building for the 1st time before saving.

After modifying any part of a vehicle or creating a new one, simply click the green check mark at the bottom right corner.

If you entered the Vehicle Creator from the Galaxy Main Menu you will enter the Sporepedia with your vehicle card selected. If you entered the Vehicle Creator from the City Planner in the Civilization Phase your vehicle will be automatically saved and you will return to the City Planner with your new vehicle ready to use in your City.

If a red exclamation mark appears in the place of the green check mark, it is because you need to do one of the these steps:

Add more parts to your vehicle - all vehicles must contain at least 3 blocks.

Give your vehicle a name

If a yellow exclamation mark appears in the place of the green check mark, you will be prompted to paint the vehicle for the 1st time before saving.

The Parts PaletteIn Build Mode the Parts Palette is open on the left of the Vehicle Creator Screen.

Parts CategoriesAlong the top of the Parts Palette are the Parts Categories you can choose from; cockpits, bodies, locomotion, specialty weapons, details and effects.

Which way is my vehicle facing?Your vehicle is facing toward the arrow on the vehicle dais.

Selecting and Adding PartsTo select a part click on it in the parts palette and then drag it from the palette onto the dais or onto your vehicle.

To select a part once it is on your vehicle, just click on it until it is highlighted in blue.

Center SymmetryVehicle Body and Cockpit parts will align to the center of the dais automatically.

Intersecting PartsVehicle parts can intersect, it is up to you to place them where you wish.

Vehicle Diameter and HeightThere are limits to the diameter and height that your vehicles can be. If you exceed these limits as you try to place a part, the part simply won't stay put, instead it will remain highlighted red even if it looks like it should attach. You will not be charged for parts that can not be placed.

Undo/RedoClick the undo/redo buttons to undo or redo your last move (you can click several times).

You can access more part handles once you have a part on your vehicle by selecting that part and holding down the tab key. You'll see additional part handles that let you control the placement of each part to a greater extent.

Copying Parts

To copy a part that you already have on your vehicle, click on that part while holding down the ALT key on your keyboard, then drag the copy to another spot on your spacecraft.

Paint Brush Mode allows you to paint the regions of each individual vehicle part separately.

Paint Brush Steps

Select a pattern swatch, you will see it appear alongside the color palette selector.

Most pattern swatches have a primary and secondary color. Chose one color from the top row of the color palette selector and another color from the bottom row of the palette color selector.

Move your cursor, which will appear as a paint bucket over to your vehicle. Areas of your vehicle will outline in blue, this is the area that will be painted if you click. Click to paint the area you wish with your pattern.

Paint Brush Mode Advanced Features

Painting Multiple Parts or Regions

Press the 1 on your number keys then Hold the Control key and place your paint bucket over a part to select all similar parts. Click to paint all parts the same texture and color

Press 2 on your number keys then Hold the Control key and place your paint bucket over a part region to select all like similar regions. Click to paint all of the outlined regions with the same texture and color.

Eye Dropper

Press 3 on your number keys then Hold the Alt key when you click on a painted part to copy color and texture into the swatch color band window.

Press 3 on your number keys then Hold Control and Alt keys to activate the eyedropper. When you click on a painted part you will pick up both the color and texture of that part. You can then click on any other part and paint it that same color and texture.

Press 4 on your number keys then Hold the Control and Alt keys to activate the eye dropper. When you click on a painted part you will pick up only the texture of that part. You can now apply that texture to another part by clicking on it with the paint bucket.

Press 5 on your number keys, then Hold the Control and Alt keys to activate the eye dropper. When you click on a painted part you will pick up only the color of that part. You can now apply that color to another part by clicking on it with the paint bucket.

Painting Your VehicleNow that you've created the perfect vehicle, it's time to add a little color. Select Paint Mode at the top of the Vehicle Creator. The Paint Palette will open on the right of the Vehicle Creator Screen.

You can paint your vehicle in one of three ways:

Complete Styles - just one click and your vehicle will take on the style of the sample image in the Complete Styles Palette

or

Partial Styles - allows you to apply specific textures and colors of your choice in three regions: Chassis and Cockpits, Wheels, Wings, and Sails, and Details.

or

Paint Brush Mode - allows you to customizing the textures and colors for each region on each individual part.

Paint LikeYou can even copy the paint theme of one of your previous creations using the Paint Like feature. This is particularly useful if you want to paint all of your vehicles using the same style. You can even match the style of buildings or creatures that you have created. See the Paint Like section on how to use this feature.

Paint Brush Mode allows you to paint the regions of each individual vehicle part separately.

Paint Brush Steps:

Select a pattern swatch, you will see it appear alongside the color palette selector.

Most pattern swatches have a primary and secondary color. Chose one color from the top row of the color palette selector and another color from the bottom row of the palette color selector.

Move your cursor, which will appear as a paint bucket over to your vehicle. Areas of your vehicle will outline in blue, this is the area that will be painted if you click. Click to paint the area you wish with your pattern.

Paint Brush Mode Advanced Features

Painting Multiple Parts or Regions

Press the 1 on your number keys then Hold the Control key and place your paint bucket over a part to select all similar parts. Click to paint all parts the same texture and color

Press 2 on your number keys then Hold the Control key and place your paint bucket over a part region to select all like similar regions. Click to paint all of the outlined regions with the same texture and color.

Eye Dropper

Press 3 on your number keys then Hold the Alt key when you click on a painted part to copy color and texture into the swatch color band window.

Press 3 on your number keys then Hold Control and Alt keys to activate the eyedropper. When you click on a painted part you will pick up both the color and texture of that part. You can then click on any other part and paint it that same color and texture.

Press 4 on your number keys then Hold the Control and Alt keys to activate the eye dropper. When you click on a painted part you will pick up only the texture of that part. You can now apply that texture to another part by clicking on it with the paint bucket.

Press 5 on your number keys, then Hold the Control and Alt keys to activate the eye dropper. When you click on a painted part you will pick up only the color of that part. You can now apply that color to another part by clicking on it with the paint bucket.

You can access more part handles once you have a part on your spaceship by selecting that part and holding down the tab key. You'll see additional part handles that let you control the placement of each part to a greater extent.

Copying Parts

To copy a part that you already have on your spaceship, click on that part while holding down the ALT key on your keyboard, then drag the copy to another spot on your spacecraft.

Now that you've created the perfect spaceship, it's time to add a little color. Select Paint Mode at the top of the Spaceship Creator. The Paint Palette will open on the right of the Spaceship Creator Screen.

You can paint your spaceship in one of three ways:

Complete Styles - just one click and your vehicle will take on the style of the sample image in the Complete Styles Palette

or

Partial Styles - allows you to apply specific textures and colors of your choice in three regions: Chassis and Cockpits, Wheels, Wings and Sails, and Details.

or

Paint Brush Mode - allows you to customizing the textures and colors for each region on each individual part.

Paint LikeYou can even copy the paint theme of one of your previous creations using the Paint Like feature. This is particularly useful if you want to paint your spaceship to match the style of your buildings and vehicles. See the Paint Like section on how to use this feature.

After modifying any part of a spaceship or creating a new one, simply click the green check mark at the bottom right corner.

If you entered the Spaceship Creator from the Galaxy Main Menu you will enter the Sporepedia with your spaceship card selected. If you entered the Spaceship Creator during the transition from the Civilization Phase your spaceship will be automatically saved and you will return to the Civ Phase at the helm of your new spaceship ready to use.

If a red exclamation mark appears in the place of the green check mark, it is because you need to do one of the these steps:

Add more parts to your spaceship - all vehicles must contain at least 3 blocks.

Give your spaceship a nameIf a yellow exclamation mark appears in the place of the green check mark, you will be prompted to paint the spaceship for the 1st time before saving.

In Build Mode the Parts Palette is open on the left of the Spaceship Creator Screen.

Parts CategoriesAlong the top of the Parts Palette are the Parts Categories you can choose from; cockpits, bodies, locomotion types, weapons, details and effects.

Which way is my spaceship facing?Your spaceship is facing toward the arrow on the vehicle dais.

Selecting and Adding PartsTo select a part click on it in the parts palette and then drag it from the palette onto the dais or onto your spaceship.

To select a part once it is on your spaceship, just click on it until it is highlighted in blue.

Center SymmetrySpaceship Body and Cockpit parts will align to the center of the dais automatically.

Intersecting PartsSpaceship parts can intersect, it is up to you to place them where you wish.

Spaceship Diameter and HeightThere are limits to the diameter and height that your spaceships can be. If you exceed these limits as you try to place a part, the part simply won't stay put, instead it will remain highlighted red even if it looks like it should attach. You will not be charged for parts that can not be placed.

Undo/RedoClick the undo/redo buttons to undo or redo your last move (you can click several times).

When you have completely filled the Progress Bar, you will be presented with the Evolve to Land button (Icon).

Pushing this button will take you into the Cell Creator with newly available limbs. Take this chance to evolve your cell creature one final time to prepare your creature for life on land in the Creature Phase of Spore.

You can track your progression through the Cell Phase by following the Progress Bar on the bottom of the screen.

Each segment of the bar represents a stage of growth for your cell. As you eat food and progress on the bar, you will grow larger than those around you. Predators that once terrorized you will eventually become minnows in your wake as you grow, evolve and prepare to transition to land.

As you eat, you will also gain DNA, which is represented in the window to the left of the Progress Bar. You spend this DNA in the Cell Creator to evolve your cell creature. When you are ready to evolve, press the Creator Button (Icon) that sits just above of the Progress Bar.

Other cell creatures can shed parts that you can collect. Cells that have a part icon (Icon) next to their name are the ones to target, either attack them yourself or wait for another predator to do the work for you.

Parts can also be found in floating fossils (image).

When a part is discovered, you can swim up to it to collect it. Collected parts will be available in the Creature Creator next time you enter it.

In the Cell Phase of Spore, you must navigate deep waters full of threats. Eat to grow and evolve to survive and eventually make the transition to land.

In order to make it to land, you must:

eat to grow

collect parts in the environment

evolve your cell creature in the Cell Creator

Your mouth type determines what type of food you will eat. If you are an herbivore with a filter feeder mouth, you eat green plant buds. If you are a carnivore with a jaw mouth, you eat other creatures. If you are an omnivore with a proboscis, you get food from both living organisms and green plant buds. If you change your mouth in the Cell Creator, you will change your diet.

You will encounter other species, some friendly, some dangerous. You must survive by either your social or attack skills, gaining DNA along the way to use to continue to evolve your creature; eventually becoming the sole sentient species on the planet and forging forward toward a civilized existence.

You can socialize with the different creatures on the planet by setting your creature to the [ICON] Social Stance, and then clicking on your target. Your creature will have different abilities depending on the parts you chose in the Creature Creator.

To impress another creature you must mimic their social at the same or higher level. If another creature sings to you, not only must you choose to sing, but you must be able to sing at least as well as they can!

If you are too low level, or are missing an ability, you need to earn [ICON] DNA and then re-enter the Creature Creator to improve.

You can choose the individual social moves by clicking on the [ICON] Dance, [ICON] Sing, [ICON] Pose, or [ICON] Charm buttons in the verb tray, if your creature possesses those abilities.

HealthYour creature's health indicator is just above your creature profile in the bottom right of the screen. Keep an eye on your health, especially during fights. You may need to heal and come back for more. To heal your creature, eat something or find your nearest nest and sit in it. You can also use the nests of species that you have befriended.

To find your nearest nest, just use your call button, the nest indicator (image) will show up pointing in the direction of your nest.

Death and De-evolutionIf you starve or are killed by another creature, you will be reborn as another member of your species back at your current nest location. You will also lose a small amount of DNA - smart creatures don't get killed!

HungerAll creatures need to eat!

Depending on the mouth type you have chosen in the editor, your creature will be a carnivore, herbivore or omnivore. Carnivores eat meat, herbivores eat fruit, and omnivores eat both. Keep an eye on your Hunger Need Bar on your creature profile in the bottom right of the screen.

If you don't eat enough, your creature will begin to starve and may eventually die.

Creature AbilitiesYou can evolve your creature's abilities by spending DNA on parts in the Creature Creator.

Social Abilities Social abilities allow you to befriend other species and gain DNA. There are four social abilities: Charm, Pose, Dance and Sing. Each ability has five levels, which correspond to the persuasive power of the particular social. Whenever you approach another creature in your social stance, they will perform a social ability - if you match or exceed their level with an identical social ability, you will impress them enough to befriend them.

Combat AbilitiesCombat abilities allow you to hunt other species and gain DNA or food. There are four attack abilities: Strike, Bite, Spit and Charge. Each ability has five levels, which correspond to the physical power of the particular attack. Attacks also have a recharge rate which is the amount of time you must wait before that attack is ready to use again. Note that both spit and charge require you to be a certain distance away from your target to function.

Movement Abilities There are several movement abilities such as sneak or glide, which you can gain by adding specific parts in the editor. Experiment with them all!

By interacting aggressively or socially with other creatures on the planet, you can affect your relationship with that species either negatively or positively.

You can see your current relationship with any species by hovering over a creature with your mouse cursor. The different faces represent different relationship states.

Ally - These creatures really like your species, and will allow you to heal at their nests and will potentially come to your aid.

Friendly - These creatures quite like your species, and will allow you to heal at their nests.

Curious - These creatures are curious as to your creature's intent toward them. They will not attack, but they are not yet friendly.

Annoyed - These creatures will growl and attack on sight. However, they can be potentially converted into a friend species.

Hostile - These creatures are your species' natural enemies. They will attack on sight and cannot be befriended.

Fear - These creatures fear your species. Hunt them for food or prove you are not a threat!

Your WorldYou will need to traverse your planet as you evolve, both to keep up with your migrating species, but also to find more food. As you do, you may encounter some strange unique species of mammoth size, encounter world events and find that it can be a dangerous place at night.

Your Nest, Mating and HealingYour nest is where your own species hangs out. It is where you head if you want to mate to enter the creature creator or if you need to heal. To find your nest use your locating call, which is a button on the bottom center of the screen.

Note: if you extinct other species, more of your own species will move into the vacated nest. You will still need to find your own nest to find a mate and heal.

Your mate will respond from their current location, which you will see as an icon on the edge of the screen, or as hearts if you are already close to them. Once you've found your mate, simply click on them to begin your mating dance!

MigrationOccasionally your species will migrate. The nest that you started upon emerging onto land will be left behind as your group evolves. When you call, the new location will be indicated by the nest indicator or you can follow the creature paths on the terrain to find your group.

DNA is the currency you use to evolve your creature and it also marks your progress towards sentience!

As you gain DNA, you will also gain intelligence levels. There are four Intelligence Levels, and each one will be announced by an [ICON] Upgrade Icon that will appear in the center of the screen when you cross the target DNA threshold.

Press the button to increase your intelligence and eventually found a tribe!

You can track your progression through the Creature Phase by following the Progress Bar at the bottom of the screen.

Each segment of the bar represents a Brain Level for your species. Adding a Brain Level will give your creature more Health, Physical Size and the ability to add a Pack Member.

To fill the bar you must earn DNA by befriending or hunting other creatures on the planet in order to assert your species' dominance and gain intelligence. Fulfilling the goal cards that appear in the upper left corner of your screen will also earn you DNA.

The amount of DNA that you have earned is shown in the lower left corner. You can enter the Creature Creator anytime you wish; just find a mate using your mating call just above the Progress Bar. Once you have found your mate, click on them to mate, lay an egg and you will then enter the Creature Creator.

To find out more about using the Creature Creator go to that section in the Spore Guide.

When you're ready to evolve, you need to find your mate on the planet!

Your mate will always be at your current nest location, and if you need to find them, you can use your [ICON] Mating Call.

Your mate will always respond.

If they are visible onscreen, hearts will be displayed on your mate. If they are off-screen, a [ICON] pointer will appear on the screen's edge which shows you in which direction you need to head to find them.

At certain periods in the game your species will migrate to new locations, and your mate will travel with them. Use your call to find them and claim the new nest!

You can use the mouse or the keyboard, or a combination of both to control your creature.

Mouse Controls:

MovementThe left mouse button can be used to move your creature by clicking or click dragging on the ground. A Go To indicator will show you where you have clicked. Clicking on objects in the world will also cause your creature to interact with them.

Movement AbilitiesIf you evolve your creature to have movement abilities such as: sneak, jump, sprint or glide, you will see these ability buttons appear in your creature portrait, just click on one to use it.

TargetingYou can interact with objects or other species in the world by clicking on them. When you click on another species you will want to make sure you are in the stance that you want. Use the stance buttons (image) just above the progress bar to set either a social or attack stance.

Spit and Charge AbilitiesTo use your spit or charge ability you must be at least a small distance from your target. You may need to back up and then you will be able to use these abilities.

ThrowingYour creature can pick up some objects in the world either with its mouth or graspers. You can carry these about with you. When you click on a target, it will throw the object.

MatingTo mate with one of your species, first use your mating call, you will see call lines and your nest icon with a heart appear in the direction of the nearest mate (if one is available). Head toward these indicators and then click on your amorous friend to mate. Mating gains you access to the Creature Creator to evolve.

Keyboard Controls:

W or 'Up Arrow' - Move forward

A or 'Left Arrow' - Turn left

S or 'Down Arrow' - Walk backward

D or 'Right Arrow' - Turn right

Keyboard Abilities Shortcuts:

1 - Use your 'Bite' or 'Sing' Ability - depending on whether you're in Attack or Social stance

2 - Use your 'Dance' or 'Charge' Ability - depending on whether you're in Attack or Social stance

3 - Use your 'Charm' or 'Strike' Ability - depending on whether you're in Attack or Social stance

4 - Use your 'Pose' or 'Spit' Ability - depending on whether you're in Attack or Social stance

Backspace - Mating Call

Spacebar - Jump, and also flap your wings if your creature has evolved them

In the Creature Phase of Spore your goal is to become the sole sentient species on the planet.

To do this, you must evolve your creature by earning [ICON] DNA through hunting or socializing.

Each successful social or combat interaction will earn you DNA, but you earn much more DNA by completing Goal Cards and befriending an entire species or causing that species to become extinct.

DNA is used in the Creature Creator to add parts that you discover in the environment onto your creature. Become the most powerful charger or the most social dancer to impress the other species of this planet, and don't underestimate the value of some good moves, abilities such as sneak, jump and glide may be in your evolutionary path if you elect so.

As you gain DNA, you will also gain intelligence levels. There are four Intelligence Levels, and each one will be announced by an [ICON] Upgrade Icon that will appear in the center of the screen when you cross the target DNA threshold.

Press the [ICON] button to increase your intelligence and eventually found a tribe!

Finding new Parts is the key to improving your creature's abilities in the world.

Each part has a unique set of Abilities which can aid your creature in becoming the dominant species on the planet.

There are four sizes of skeletons: small, medium, large, and distressingly large. Each one will yield a different level of part, from simple to advanced, so keep your eyes peeled when exploring the planet.

Alpha Creatures also give up parts when you successfully socialize with them or defeat them in combat.

Each part that you discover in the world will be unlocked in the Creature Creator the next time you enter it.

An empty pack icon (image) will appear along the right hand side of the screen.

To add a creature to your pack, socialize with a friendly creature, either your own species or another. Once you've gained a pack member, they will follow you around the planet loyally, mimicking your every action. They will aid in any hunting you perform and also provide a boost to your socializing attempts.

You can earn DNA by befriending or hunting individual creatures, but the largest DNA rewards are reserved for completing relationship goals with an entire species - you will usually need to socialize or hunt several members of a target species.

You can then spend DNA in the creature creator by mating with another member of your species and evolving your creature. This will earn you new Abilities.

[LMB Icon] The left mouse button can be used to move your creature by clicking or click dragging on the ground. A Go To indicator will show you where you have clicked. If you evolve your creature to have movement abilities of jump, sneak, sprint or glide, you can click on these abilities at the bottom of your creature portrait to use them.

Clicking on objects in the world will also cause your creature to interact with them.

Use the abilities stance buttons (images) just above the progress bar to change your stance from social to attack when you target other creatures.

[RMB Icon] Holding down the right mouse button and moving the mouse will cause the camera to pitch and rotate, allowing you to look around the environment.

[MMB Icon] Scrolling the mouse wheel will cause the camera to zoom in or out.

Keyboard Controls:

W or 'Up Arrow' - Move forward

A or 'Left Arrow' - Turn left

S or 'Down Arrow' - Walk backward

D or 'Right Arrow' - Turn right

+ - Camera Zoom In

- - Camera Zoom Out

&lt; - Camera Rotate Left

Camera Rotate Right

Keyboard Ability Shortcuts:

If your creature gains other abilities in the game, there are keyboard shortcuts you can use.

Backspace - Mating Call

Spacebar - Jump, and also flap your wings if your creature has evolved them

CTRL - Toggle your 'Sneak' ability on and off

SHIFT - Toggle your 'Sprint' ability on and off

1 - Use your 'Bite' or 'Sing' Ability - depending on whether you're in Attack or Social stance

2 - Use your 'Dance' or 'Charge' Ability - depending on whether you're in Attack or Social stance

3 - Use your 'Charm' or 'Strike' Ability - depending on whether you're in Attack or Social stance

4 - Use your 'Pose' or 'Spit' Ability - depending on whether you're in Attack or Social stance

Each planet has many species, all of them created and shared by other Spore players. Each time you meet one, you must decide whether they are your friend or foe, and what kind of relationship you wish to build with them.

Use the stance buttons (image) in the middle of the screen to set your stance before you target another species.

You may then use each of your unique abilities by clicking on the individual ability buttons or using your keyboard. Remember, if you have the abilities of spit or charge, that you need to be at least a small distance from your target to use these abilities.

Each species also has its own set of unique behaviors based on its physical attributes. Try interacting with as many different types as you can find!

You can select your tribe members by clicking on them individually, or by clicking on their portrait in the Tribal List on the right of the screen.

If you want to select multiple tribe members, you can hold down the left mouse button and drag a box around the group of tribe members you wish to select. You can also select multiple tribe members by holding down the CTRL key and clicking on the tribe members you wish to add to the group. You can also click on more than one portrait in the Tribal List.

Once you have a tribe member selected, you can direct them to interact with objects and creatures in the world by clicking on them. For instance, you can send your tribe to a point in the world by clicking on the ground, or to pick fruit by clicking on a fruit filled tree or to fish by clicking on the water where fish are jumping.

When you buy tools for your tribe, you will need to equip however many tribe members you wish with that tool. Click on the tribe members you wish to equip, then click on the tool shack that contains the tool you want to use. You can change any tribe member's tool by clicking on that tribe member and then clicking on another tool shack.

The portrait of each tribe member in the Tribal List shows what that member of your tribe is currently active doing. If they have a tool, an icon of this tool will appear instead of the individual portrait. This way you can keep track of your gatherers, hunters as well as their individual health and hunger status. This helps you to choose the best tribe members to accomplish any goal that you have.

You can also build an ongoing food supply by domesticating Wild Creatures! Just switch to social stance and then give food to a species you wish to domesticate. Herbivores, Carnivores and Omnivores can all eat the eggs of domesticated wild creatures.

You can track your progress in the Tribal Phase by looking at the Progress Bar at the bottom of the screen.

Each segment of the bar marks another tribe you have destroyed or allied with. At each success your tribe will also celebrate its achievements by adding a piece to its totem pole in your village area, and by upgrading its tribal hut and tribal area.

Relationships with other Tribes and other Wild Creatures are very important in the Tribal Phase.

Tribes that dislike your tribe will begin to raid your food, kidnap your babies and attack your tribe members and tools. Make sure you maintain good relationships with large tribes, or strike against them quickly, or you risk being overrun.

Raids from either wild creatures or other tribes are announced by the sound of a hunting horn. If your tribe is off on another task, its time to get back to the village!

Their primary need is hunger, which is visible as a brown bar in their portrait in the Tribal List on the right of the screen.

As it falls, the tribe members become hungry, and will eventually need to be fed.

When they are very hungry they will begin to think about nothing but food [ICON], so feed them quickly!

If tribe members are not fed, they will eventually begin to starve, lose health, and may eventually die.

HealthEach tribe member can also lose health in battle. To keep their health in tip top shape, return them to the tribal village where they can rest and heal. Eating can help speed up the healing process as can the presence of a healing shack which you can buy from the Tribal Planner.

If you enter Civilization Phase following the Tribal Phase you will continue along with the same identity color you had as a Tribe.

If you enter Civilization Phase from the Galaxy Main Menu, you will be prompted to choose an Identity Color. This color will mark your nation as different from the other nations on the planet, and will be visible on buildings, vehicles and the mini-map.

As you take over other cities, they will adopt your identity color and become part of your nation. You will be able to control their fleet of vehicles and their city.

Wild creatures in the Tribal Phase can be a threat to your new tribe, or a source of food.

If you leave your tribal area unattended they will sometimes come to raid your food pile, or attack your wandering babies.

However, if you are a carnivorous, or omnivorous tribe, wild creatures are your primary source of food that you will need to hunt or domesticate.

Hunting Wild CreaturesTo hunt wild creatures, switch to the Combat Stance, then click on the wild creature you wish to hunt.

Domesticating Wild CreaturesDomesticating creatures adds them to your tribal area as farm animals for your tribe. You can then eat their eggs to survive. Herbivores, Carnivores and Omnivores can all eat the eggs of domesticated creatures.

To domesticate a wild creature, switch your tribe members to the Social Stance by clicking on the [ICON] Social Icon the bottom of the screen, then click on the target creature. Your tribe member will feed it some food. Make sure you have enough surplus food in advance.

After you've fed them enough, you can herd them into the pen behind your tribal hut!

To target another tribe aggressively, switch to your Combat Stance by clicking the [ICON] Combat Icon on the bottom of the screen.

In this stance, if you click on their tools, you will attempt to destroy them. If you click on a tribe member, you will attack them. If you click on the other tribe's food pile you will attempt to steal some of their food. And if you click on another tribe's baby, you will attempt to kidnap it.

Remember, that equipping your tribe with weapons from the Tribal Planner will help you improve your destructive efficiency, and that different weapons have different strengths and weaknesses, for example, spears are better for distant combat but will not be as useful when trying to raze a hut.

MatingMating is how you grow your own tribe number, however, now that your species is sentient, they will let you know when they want to mate. Any time a tribe member has hearts floating above their head, you can click on an available tribe member, then click on the one with hearts to mate. At each upgrade event, you'll find that you'll be able to breed some more.

Buying ToolsBuilding up your tribe's abilities is accomplished by buying them tools. Once you have collected a surplus of food you can use it to purchase tools from your tribal hut. Just click on the hut and click on Buy Tools. Choose the tool that you believe will add the most value to your tribe depending on your strategy for survival and domination.

When you begin the Tribal Phase, the creature you were controlling during the Creature Phase is promoted to Chieftain of the village!

Your Chieftain is slightly more powerful than other units, and you can recognize them by the Chieftain Staff they are carrying. The chieftain will not need to equip any other tool as his staff is capable of any tool ability.

The other tribes are your primary competition in the world, and also your method for achieving victory and building a city!

You must conquer or ally yourself with five neighboring tribes in order to advance, so pick your strategy based on the size, location and tools of your opposition.

To Conquer:You must raze another tribe's tribal area, hut and tools, in order to conquer another tribe.

Target their tool shacks and hut by selecting a group of tribe members, setting their stance to attack and then clicking on the rival tribe's tools or hut. When you equip your tribe with tools you will increase your power of attack. You may find that you need to target individual rival tribe members to keep them at bay as other's in your tribe attack the rival village.

To Ally:You may need to build up a relationship with another tribe before you can ally with them. You can bring gifts of food to win them over, and then attempt to entertain them into your alliance.

To entertain a rival tribe to make them your ally, select a group of your tribe members, select the social stance and then either select an individual from a rival tribe or select the rival tribe's hut. Social Tools will improve your tribe's entertainment abilities.

To target another tribe socially and begin forming an alliance with them, switch your tribe members to a Social Stance by clicking the [ICON] Social Icon on the bottom of the screen.

In this stance, if you click on another tribe member, your tribe will perform for them in an attempt to impress them. If you click on another tribe's hut you will bring them a gift of food.

Remember, that equipping your tribe with musical instruments from the Tribal Planner will help you improve relationships more quickly, and that sending more tribe members to gift will cost more food but will be more impressive.

You can buy tools by clicking on your tribal hut and entering the Tribal Planner.

There are three categories of tools:

Food and Healing - These tools help your tribe members be more efficient in gathering food or healing.

Social - These instruments will become very valuable as you work to impress other tribes. A combination of instruments can be advantageous.

Military - These weapons can come in handy for both hunting and combating other tribes. A combination of weapons can make your Tribe the fiercest around.

CostsEach tool costs a certain amount of Food and adds a specific ability to your tribe members when equipped.

Equipping ToolsWhen you've chosen a tool you wish to purchase, simply drag it to an available slot in your tribal area. Close the Tribal Planner. Select the tribe members you wish to equip and with them selected, click on the tool shack.

Welcome to the Civilization Phase of Spore. Your species is not only sentient but has grown in stature and size from a small tribal village to a newly burgeoning city. Your challenges will come from other cities of your own species.

Uniting the planet by militaristic, religious or economic means will put you on the path to technological advancements and space.

Fleet LimitsAlso in the upper right corner just above the City Stats are your Fleet Limit Indicators These indicators tell you how many of each type of vehicle you currently have and how many you can have.

Building a successful city requires you to place the different types of buildings in good locations.

Using the City Planner, which you access by clicking on the City Hall, you can create, purchase and place new buildings in your city. This will help you build up your population, make them productive and happy as well as build defenses for your city. Find more information about building your city in the City Planner section.

Houses not only increase your population and your potential vehicle count but they also create locations which can link to Entertainment Buildings and Factories to boost the stats of your city. For city stats, the City Hall counts as a house.

Entertainment Buildings increase the happiness of your city if they are placed beside houses – unhappy cities produce less cash and can cause rioting. Also, unhappy cities are much more vulnerable to Religious Conversion.

Factories increase the income of your city if placed beside houses, but will also produce unhappy citizens. Nobody likes to work all day!

Turrets will help defend your city from hostile takeover by automatically attacking oncoming units.

Capturing more cities unlocks the ability to have sea and air vehicles, as well as allowing more vehicles in your fleet.

Each city specialty allows you to have a maximum number of that type of vehicle, for example, having 1 military city and 1 religious city will allow you to have 5 of each vehicle, where as, having two military cities allows you to have 10 military units.

Only the land vehicles will be available at the start of the Civilization Phase. As you grow your nation by conquering, converting or buying out other cities, you will unlock the ability to create sea and later air vehicles.

When you buy or create vehicles for your city, the vehicles will automatically match your city specialty of military, religious or economic.

Buying VehiclesTo buy a vehicle for your city, first roll over the type of vehicle you'd like to purchase. You can either create one or select to use an existing vehicle that you previously made, was Maxis made, identified via a Sporecast or got from a friend. Click on the Load from Sporepedia button next to the vehicle type you wish to purchase, Sporepedia will open to that section for you to choose from.

See the section on Vehicle Creator for information on creating your own vehicle.

Once you have selected or created a vehicle, it will show up when you return to the City Planner. To add it to your city, just click on its image. Clicking more than once will add multiple vehicles. You will be charged for each one. Your vehicles will appear just outside your main city gate.

Fleet LimitEach city has a limit to the number of vehicles it can add to its fleet. This information is in the upper right corner of the City Planner. You can purchase only as many vehicles as your Fleet Limit allows.

Fleet LimitsEach city has a maximum limit of vehicles for their fleet. These limits increase as you capture more cities and unlock new technologies for sea faring and air vehicles. You can also combine vehicle types. If you capture a city of another specialty you will have a vehicle limit for each specialty type. The Fleet Limit for each vehicle type is shown in the upper right corner of the City Planner, so you can see it as you purchase vehicles.

Sell BackYou may find that you want to trade out certain vehicles for others that have different abilities. To sell back one of your existing vehicles you can click on it and press Backspace on your keyboard, or you can select that vehicle in your Fleet List and click on the X in the upper left corner of its portrait. You will receive one half of the original purchase price.

Mining spice from the spice geysers on your planet. You will need to first claim a spice node. Take a vehicle to a near by spice node. It will build a derrick and you will be mining spice at a rate of some amount of Sporebucks/minute. Be watchful, other cities will attempt to take these spice nodes from you forcefully. You will need to defend them. You may find others to take over if you are so inclined. Also, spice geysers do run dry.

Build Factories in your cities. Your civilians are most productive when factories are placed next to houses.

Enter into trade deals with other cities. These will be offered through the communications screen, so don't just screen all of your calls. Once you accept a trade deal a trade route will be created from your city to the neighboring city.

Via the Communications Panel:As other cities build in stature and become nations they will start to initiate communications with you. The communications panel will light up next to the mini map. Each line shows the color of the nation, their specialty and your relationship with that nation. When you hover over each comm button it will give you more information on your relationship. The details listed here are the history of events between your two nations that have impacted your relationship status.

Via the City HallClick on another city's city hall and select contact. This opens the communcation screen. You will have a number of options such as giving gifts, proposing trade routes, purchasing their city, etc. Make your selection in the Comm Screen Window.

Keeping the channels of communication open can help improve relationships and a bit of diplomacy can come in handy. On the other hand, if you really want to provoke war, try out the insult options.

Your city music is made up of several parts; the city beat, and the city theme (a melody and instrument) and planet ambience. You can select not only the beat and instrument, set the individual volume levels for both as well as create your own customized melody in the melody composer section.

As you conquer, convert or buy other cities they will take on the City Music from your home city. This music will represent your nation.

City BeatJust click on a button, each represents a different beat track. Listen for a few moments since these change over time. If you want to isolate just the beat, simply turn the volume down for the other city music components. Once you have a beat you like, move on to the Anthem component.

You can also turn off the beat by clicking on the selected beat button.

AnthemThe anthem is made up of an instrument and melody.

InstrumentsTo select an instrument, just click on one of the blue buttons. Try them out until you find one you like.

MelodyThere are a number of ways to create your own melody.

Click on the die in the melody composer section to generate a random melody.

Add or remove notes by clicking on the add or remove note buttons in the lower right corner.

Once notes are positioned in the melody you can adjust their scale by click and dragging them up and down or adjust their order by click and dragging them left and right.

You can lengthen the duration of any individual note by hovering over it and scrolling the mouse wheel or using the up and down arrow on your keyboard.

You can remove notes from the melody by click and dragging them off of the melody composer section.

You can play your melody back at any time by clicking on the melody composer section background.

You can toggle the melody autoplay by clicking on the autoplay button.

AmbienceThe ambience will play across the entire planet, even as you zoom out into space. However, when you near a neighboring city of another nation, you will hear their individual city music. To select an ambience, just click on up to four of the ambience layer buttons. Combine them in any way you wish.

Undo and RedoSimply click on either of these to undo or redo your last series of actions.

LoadClicking on the load button takes you to the Sporepedia with your music section open. Just select a music card and click on the green check mark. The selected City Music will now play when you return to the City Planner. To preview a music selection, double click on its Sporepedia card.

Sharing MusicCity Music is not automatically shared. To share your City Music with your friends, find the individual file in the following directory ~save_path~City Music~mac_save_append~ (if you did the typical install). You can email the .png file to your friends.

To import city music .pngs from friends, just place the .png file into the following directory ~save_path~City Music~mac_save_append~ (if you did the typical install), while Spore is not playing. You can then access these files in your Sporepedia.

SaveOnce you have finished creating your City Music you can save it by clicking on the save button. The save dialog will prompt you to name and describe your creation. You can then find each City Music composition in your Sporepedia music tab.

RandomThe ultimate shortcut for the compositionally challenged is to click on the random button at the bottom of the City Music Creator.

To propose a trade route, select your economic vehicles and click the city with whom you want to trade.

Choose the pie menu option, "Propose Trade Route". A communication screen will appear after your vehicles make it to their city, telling you if the trade route is successful or not.

If the trade route was successful, your vehicles will begin making trips to and from the two cities. Each trip brings both nations some income, raises relationship between the nations, and makes progress towards purchasing the that city.

The more vehicles assigned to trading will increase all of these outcomes. If the trade route is unsuccessful, your vehicle will be destroyed.

The Napalm Strike is unlocked after capturing 3 Military cities. Deploying the Napalm Strike will send a small blast to the targeted area destroying everything in the area.

The Tactical Nuke is unlocked after capturing 5 Military cities. When deployed, the tactical nuke will detonate at the targeted area destroying everything in it's area, leaving nuclear fallout in it's wake. If used on cities, some building pads will suffer from nuclear fallout and not be usable.

The ICBM Strike becomes available after conquering 7 cities. Using the ICBM Strike will send nukes at all remaining nations on the globe, causing them to be destroyed and fall under your control.

The Religious Super Weapons include the Faith Heal, Black Rain, and Messianic Uprising.

The Faith Heal is unlocked after capturing 3 Religious cities. You can use the Faith Heal on your own vehicles or buildings to heal all units in the area.

The Black Rain is unlocked after capturing 5 Religious cities. If you use Black Rain on a neighboring city, it will cause a large Black Storm to appear over the city, raining diseased creatures on their city. This causes extreme unhappiness making it easier to convert their city.

The Messianic Uprising is unlocked after capturing 7 cities. Launching the Messianic Uprising creates a large holographic image of your priests chanting over your city and sending your religion across the globes. Awestruck, all cities immediately convert to your nation.

The Economic Super weapons include Bribe, Ad Blitz, and Major Merger.

Bribe is unlocked after capturing 3 economic cities. Use Bribe on enemy vehicles causing them to temporarily attack other targets.

Ad Blitz is acquired after purchasing 5 economic cities. Use the Ad Blitz on neighboring cities, sending an ad campaign over their city that is irresistible. The targeted city will instantly become purchasable.

Major Merger is unlocked after capturing 7 economic cities. Launching the major merger sends a global ad campaign. All cities will be so enamored by your economic might, they will immediately merge with your nation.

All super weapons are available in the Super Weapons panel in the middle of the bottom of the screen above the Progress Bar. There is a button for each specialty that opens the individual unlocked weapons. Selecting any of the weapons will immediately deduct the funds from your account. Left Click the ground where you want to target and launch the weapon.

City boundaries mark your nation's size and ownership of the globe. Every City and Spice Node has their own boundary that is visible both on the planet and in the Mini Map. When you take over other cities, your nation grows. But, be aware, other cities will be aware of your actions within their boundaries and will work to protect their territory.

In the civilization phase of Spore your goal is to conquer, convert or purchase every city on the planet.

You start out as a single city nation on a planet with other nations popping up across the globe. Each city takes on a specialty, Military, Religious, or Economic, with unique vehicles and abilities for each specialty type. This is based on whether you played as a more aggressive or social tribe or your choice from the Galaxy Main Menu.

Vehicles will be your tools for interacting with other cities. Using the income from your city's factories and spice collection, you can purchase vehicles to add to your fleet. Giving these vehicles orders will be key to your strategy. As you progress you will unlock the technology for both sea faring and air vehicles.

Your city will also need to be maintained. Add and create buildings for your cities to improve your income and strength. Eventually you will create and purchase vehicles to use to capture other cities. It's up to you how to build and expand your nation, unlocking powerful super weapons depending on how your nation evolves.

Once you are the dominant nation on the planet, you'll be able to unlock the technology for space travel.

The Mini Map is your most important source of information for the events taking place on your planet. You can also Right-Click the Mini Map to navigate the globe or rollover areas of it to get more detail information.

Cities: The city icon represent each city on the map and are color coded to tell ownership.

Spice Nodes: The Spice Node icon represents every spice node on the planets and it's current owner.

Vehicles: The vehicle icon represents individual vehicles on the map and nation ownership.

National Boundaries: National boundaries are visible when a city icon is moused over on the mini map.

Attacks:Attacks are represented by (Image) icons. These appear over cities, spice nodes, and vehicles when they are under attack or in combat. This includes both military and religious attacks.

Sporebuck: The Sporebuck (Image) icon appears over a city icon when a economic vehicle is trading with a city and money is earned.

Communication:When you have your comm screen open communicating with another city, the mini map will show which city is talking by showing the comm (image) icon above that city.

These are purely decorative embellishments that you can add to your city. Open the Decorations tab, select the decoration you wish to place in your city. Click and drag the decoration into your city an place it on one of the glowing position locators.

As you conquer, convert or buy out neighboring cities, they become a part of your nation. You will then control that city. You can click on its City Hall to build it out, and increase its fleet to suit your purposes.

Now that you are in the Civilization Phase your currency is Sporebucks. Your city must earn enough Sporebucks to invest in buildings, vehicles, decorations, and defenses. You can earn Sporebucks through mining Spice or building Factories in your city, or through trade with other cities. Your Sporebucks budget is shown in the lower left hand corner of the City Planner

City LayoutYour city layout affects the productivity of your city as well as your citizen's happiness. Check out the section on City Layout for more information.

Using the Fleet ListYou can see details on your entire fleet of vehicles on the right side of the screen in the Fleet List. The green bar represents your vehicle’s health.

You can select a vehicle by clicking on it in the game world, or by clicking on its icon in the Fleet List. By holding down the CTRL key while clicking on the vehicles or icons, you can add multiple vehicles to a group.

By clicking on a vehicle or its Fleet List icon with the Right Mouse Button, you can move the camera to that vehicle.

Double clicking with either the Left or the Right Mouse Button will move the camera to the target vehicle, and lock the camera in follow mode.

Once you have control of a vehicle, you can order them to move to a point by clicking on the ground, or you can order them to interact with an object or unit by clicking on them.

In the FieldYou can also control your vehicles by clicking on them in the field. Click once on any vehicle to select it, you can then click on another object in the world to have that vehicle interact with it.

You can direct a vehicle to a particular point in the world by clicking on the ground at that point.

You can select a group of vehicles by clicking on the ground near them and dragging a rectangle around the vehicles you wish to select. Release the mouse button and the vehicles will be selected.

Vehicle StanceUsing the Fleet List you can set any vehicle to either a Stand Ground or Aggressive Stance.

Stand Ground - This is a good stance if you'd like your vehicle to guard a particular area. They will stay at that point, but respond to challenges from hostile cities or nations.

Aggressive - This is a good stance if you'd like your vehicle to engage actively against hostile cities or nations.

Building a successful city requires you to place the different types of buildings in good locations.

Houses not only increase your population and your potential vehicle count but they also create locations which can link to Entertainment Buildings and Factories to boost the productivity and happiness of your city. The City Hall counts as a house.

Entertainment Buildings increase the happiness of your city if they are placed beside houses – unhappy cities produce less cash and can cause rioting. Also, unhappy cities are much more vulnerable to Religious Conversion.

Factories increase the income of your city if placed beside houses, but will also produce unhappy citizens. Nobody likes to work all day!

Building LinksAs you place buildings in your city, a glowing link will appear between buildings. Green links indicate a good placement, yellow is not optimal and red is bad.

DefenseTurrets will help defend your city from hostile takeover by automatically attacking oncoming units.

You can track your progress in the Civilization Phase by looking at the Progress Bar on the bottom of the screen.

Each segment of the bar marks a city you have taken by any of the three strategies. As your nation grows you will discover the technology to create both sea faring and air vehicles which can help you take on stronger rivals.

Use the Religious Strategy to convert other cities to your nation. Unhappy citizens often make the best targets for religious conversion.

To convert a city select your religious vehicles and click on a neighboring city hall. Choose "Convert" from the menu that appears. This will send all selected units to that city to send a barrage of musical notes and religious hymns at the target. This will start the conversion process. You can tell your progress by the conversion bar over the target city, filling with your nation's color.

If the city is very happy, the progress will be slow. The target city will slowly become angry at the idea of outsiders forcing their religion on them, throwing Molotov cocktails and damaging your vehicles. Eventually, they will turn hostile towards you and start attacking your vehicles with their turrets are defending vehicles. You can counter this by selecting individual units and targeting their turrets and entertainment buildings to temporarily disable them. If you fill the conversion bar all the way, the city will fall under your beliefs and become part of your nation.

Religious vehicles can attack other vehicles and spice node derricks as well. Although not as strong as Military vehicles, they can destroy enemy units with the power of their religious chants.

The tutorials and goal cards will guide you through the first steps in getting your Civilization up and running.

These steps include:

You will create or buy a vehicle and capture a Spice Node for income.

You will build out your city, by creating or buying and placing buildings. Take note of advantageous building links to keep your citizens at their most happy and productive.

You can then begin to explore your immediate continent, sometimes tribes have abandoned their villages and left technology behind, and you can suss out the other cities developing as your neighbors and determine your best approach to over take them.

City InformationYou can check your relationship with any city by clicking on that city's city hall. This brings up the city information. The top line of the City Information is that city's name, identity color, specialty and in the right hand corner the relationship icon.

Improving Relationships with Neighboring CitiesYou can improve your relationships with other cities by offering trade routes, gifting through the communication panel, and assisting other nations in war when they ask for your help.

Lowering Relationships with Neighboring CitiesYou can lower your relationship with other cities by attacking them with military vehicles, converting them with religious vehicles, failing to establish trade routes, under bidding when purchasing cities, failing to come to the aide of other nations when asked, and failing to pay for peace when asked.

Relationship States

At War: If you're At War with a neighboring nation, they will attack your cities, cancel trade routes, and demand tribute.

Hostile: If you're hostile with another nation, you're at the edge of war. They may attack your vehicles or decide to attack your cities if your relationship is not raised. You cannot establish trade routes at this relationship state.

Neutral: When you’re neutral with another nation they won’t attack you, but they also won’t establish trade routes with you.

Friendly: When friendly with another nation they will not attack your cities or vehicles. You can open trade routes with their cities.

Ally: When allied with another nation you can count on them for support. They will not attack you and are open for trade routes. Often times asking you for assistance when it comes to going to war.

Use the more peaceful Economic Strategy to set up trade routes with neighboring cities and eventually buy their allegiance to your nation.

Managing your relationship with your neighbors is a key to success for the Economic Strategy.

Neighboring cities will not trade with you until your relationship is high enough. Using the Communications screen, you can give gifts to other cities in an effort to raise your relationship. You can open communications with a city by clicking on the target city's hall. Once you feel like you have a high enough relationship with the target city, you can propose a trade route with them.

To propose a trade route, select your economic vehicles and Left-Click the target city's City Hall. Choose "Propose Trade Route" from the menu that appears. A communication screen will appear after your vehicles make it to their city, telling you if the trade route is successful or not.

If the trade route proposal was successful, your vehicles will begin making trips to and from the two cities. Each trip brings both cities some income, raises relationship between the cities and makes progress towards purchasing the target city.

The more vehicles assigned to trading will improve all of these outcomes. You can monitor your progress towards purchasing the city by the purchase bar over the target city. Once the purchase bar is full, you will receive a communication from the target city asking if you'd like to buy their city. You can then make your choice to purchase the city at that moment or wait to do it at a later time.

When making the purchase, you have to pick the right purchase price. If your bid is too low, you will offend the seller and they will cut off your trade route. A successful bid results in that city becoming part of your nation

If the trade route proposal was denied, your vehicle will be destroyed.

Turrets - turrets provide defense for your city and will automatically respond to any threats until damaged beyond function.

Your City HallThe City Hall that you chose upon entry to the Civilization Phase will show in the first position. You can elect to edit this City Hall or create a new one at any time.

Buying BuildingsTo buy a building for your city, first roll over the type of building you'd like to purchase. You can either create one or select to use an existing building that you previously made, was Maxis made, identified via a Sporecast or got from a friend. The Choose A (building type) will open the Sporepedia to that section for you to choose from.

See the section on Building Creator for information on creating your own building.

Once you have selected or created a building, it will show up when you return to the City Planner. To add it to your city, click and drag it from the building palette into your city and onto one of the glowing placement locators.

City LayoutThe location of each building is important, as well as their position relative to other buildings. Check out the City Layout section for more information on this topic.

Claiming Spice NodesTo claim a spice node, select a vehicle and then click, using the LMB on a nearby spice node. Your vehicle will transport to the spice node and build a derrick. You will start mining spice at some rate of Sporebucks/minute.

Defending Spice NodesSpice is a hot commodity in Spore. You will need to defend your city's spice nodes as other cities will try to take them over. You can station a vehicle to defend a node by positioning it near the spice node and selecting a stance of Stand Ground.

City PlanningThe early days of your Civilization will keep you busy building up your city and your finances before you can start interacting with other cities on the globe.

To access the City planner, click on any of your city halls using the Left Mouse Button. Here, you can create and buy vehicles and buildings, accessorize your civilians, or even create your own City Theme Music.

Controlling Your Vehicles

The left mouse button is used for selecting units and giving instructions.

To select a vehicle, click on it using the LMB or you can click on its portrait in the Fleet List on the right side of the screen.

To select a group of vehicles, hold the LMB down and drag a rectangle around the units you want to select, release the LMB and they will be selected. You can also click on multiple vehicle icons in the Fleet List.

You can select a stance of either stand ground or aggressive (image) for your vehicles using the stance buttons below the Fleet List. The stance that you select is applied to the individual or group of vehicles you have selected. The stance will persist, until you change it again.

Controlling The Camera

The Right Mouse Button, when clicked, is used for moving the camera.

The Right Mouse Button, when held, is used for pitching and rotating the camera.

The middle mouse button, when held, can pan the camera, as can the arrow keys, or the W, A, S, and D keys.

The mouse scroll wheel can zoom the camera in and out, as can the + and - keys.

The Spacebar will cycle you through each of your vehicle groups. Hit Spacebar several times to cycle from one vehicle group to the next. Once you find the group you want, the camera will follow this group until you click anywhere else on the screen.

Keyboard Shortcuts

The &lt; and &gt; keys rotate the camera.

The - and + keys will zoom your camera in and out.

Tab will cycle the camera to each of your city halls.

Backspace will position the camera at your closest city.

L calls up your mission log.

You can set vehicle groups using the CTRL + Num keys. Pressing the number key after that will position your camera behind that vehicle group.

Your capital city has a specialization; militaristic, economic or religious.

If you entered Civilization Phase from the Tribal Phase, your city will adopt its specialization based on your dominant strategy for succeeding in tribe; attacking other tribes will have led to being specialized in military, socializing with other tribes will have led to specializing in religion and effective and copious gifting will have led to specializing in economic.

If you entered Civilization Phase from the Galaxy Main Menu, you had the opportunity to select your specialty.

As you take over other cities, you can select their specialty as well. You may have cities with different specialties that may lend to different strategies as you work to overtake the entire planet.

Once you have overcome all of the cities of the planet and your nation rules you will unlock the technology to explore the cosmos. Click on the Upgrade Button that appears and rests just above the Progress Bar at the bottom of your screen.

The Military strategy is very direct, destroy your enemies with military might.

Use your vehicles to destroy neighboring cities as well as their vehicles with cannons, missiles, and lasers. to conquer a neighboring city, select your military vehicles and target enemy cities by clicking on their City Hall with using the LMB.

Choose "Attack" from the menu that appears. Your vehicles will travel to the target city and begin pummeling it with their weapons.. You can read any city's defense rating through the rollover on its City Hall. A higher defense means more turrets that fire back at your vehicles.

Your vehicles will automatically choose the greatest threat by targeting turrets and vehicles first. You can target individual turrets and buildings by selecting your vehicles and clicking the LMB on object you wish to attack.

Once the attack of a city has begun, you will see a conquer bar over the target city hall. As you destroy buildings the bar will slowly fill up with your color. It will fill completely once the City Hall is destroyed. The city will then switch to your nation, unhappy and in a state of needing repair.

Why Register?Registering your copy of Spore allows you to participate in the Spore Universe, sharing content, sending postcards, uploading movies to YouTube and building your own MySpore page on Spore.com.

Features that require registrationYou need to be registered to upload your creations to the Spore servers, email postcards to your friends, upload your movies directly to YouTube from the Creature Creator and to participate in all of the community features on Spore.com

Screen NameYour screen name is your identity in the Spore Universe. You create this when you register. When another player sees one of your creations in his or her game your screen name will be associated with it so they can look you up on www.spore.com, become your buddy and subscribe to your Sporecasts in the Sporepedia, all are features of Spore the game.

Online Options SettingsIn the online options you can log in or log out, set your preferences for logging in to Spore and YouTube and set your preferences for login reminders at game start up.

Once you've created something in Spore, you can share it with the world! Spore makes it easier than ever to send your creations to your friends and family, or to publish it to www.spore.com.

Sharing your Creations

After you create and save a creature, building or a vehicle in Spore, you can upload it to the Spore servers.

To share something you've made to the servers from the Sporepedia, click on the share button.

You can see your creations and the creations of others on www.spore.com

Email your creations

It's never been easier to share your creations with your friends and family. Simply email a copy of the .png file of any creature, building or vehicle that you've made in Spore to someone and after the recipient saves it to their desktop they can just drag it into the an editor in Spore to open it.

If you accepted the default locations during installation, you can find the .png files at ~save_path~(asset type)~mac_save_append~

Buddy up with your friends and family and get their content in your game.

Search for buddies by entering their Spore name or their full email address on the Find Buddy page and then subscribe to their Buddy Sporecast to get their content in your game. It's likely that you'll have a better chance of having a creature you've gotten from a buddy running over that hill towards you during the Creature phase than a random creature from the Spore servers.

Your current buddy list will be displayed on the Find Buddy page and you can choose to unsubscribe to them from that page if you no longer want to get new content from them. The content you've already downloaded is not removed from your system when you unsubscribe, but you won't get anything new from them.

In the Online section of the Options panel, you can choose to limit your downloaded content to only the content from buddies you have subscribed to. By choosing this option, you will no longer receive the standard shared random content from the server and will only get creations from your specified buddies.

The Sporepedia is your community hub in Spore. Find out where you stand in the Spore Universe, learn about new offerings from the Spore team and see the coolest new stuff from other players.

MySpore Page

Check your stats and find out where you stand in the Spore community - how many Sporecasts you've created, how many people have subscribed to your Sporecasts and your current count of shared creations.

Get the latest news and information about the Spore community as it happens.

Manage the comments that other player's have made about your creations. Approve and delete comments, block other players from commenting on your creations, or report offensive comments to Maxis from the comment administration section.

See the coolest creations and Sporecasts made by the Spore Community in the Featured Content Section.

A Sporecast is a grouped set of content that is created by you, Maxis or any other player in the Spore Universe. It may have a specific theme like Art Deco or Purple Stuff or it may be a group of cool stuff that a player found and wanted to group together like Will's Favorites.

If you subscribe to Sporecasts, the game will have a higher chance of using content you've downloaded via Sporecast to populate your game. You'll have a better chance of having a creature you've gotten from a Sporecast running over that hill towards you during the Creature phase.

You can subscribe to a Sporecast through the Sporepedia or by logging into www.spore.com. Subscribe to some Sporecasts on your lunch hour and the next time you start the game it will update its information and use your new Sporecasts to populate planets with creatures, vehicles, buildings etc.

In the Sporepedia you can either create or search for Sporecasts.

Click on the Create Sporecast link in the left hand column to create your own Sporecast.

Search for content and click on the plus sign [PLUS SIGN ICON] to add creatures, buildings and vehicles to your new Sporecast.

Add a name and a description to the Sporecast and hit save to send it to www.spore.com.

Go to Find Sporecast to search for Sporecasts to add to your subscription list.

Enter a couple words and browse the results until you find something you like.

Click on the plus sign [PLUS SIGN ICON] to add a new Sporecast to your subscription list.

For more detailed information about how to create Sporecasts, visit www.spore.com.